Saxitoxin Linked to Deaths of Northern Fur Seals in the Southeast Bering Sea
In August 2024, a northern fur seal mortality event was observed on St. Paul Island, AK in the southeast (SE) Bering Sea. Ten seals in good body condition were found dead along with large accumulations of dead fish on Benson Beach located on St. Paul Island. Full necropsies of the five available adult seals, one pup and several fish did not reveal any overt causes of death. Testing of tissues for the algal neurotoxins domoic acid (DA) and saxitoxin (STX) confirmed the presence of STX in multiple tissues and physiological exposure in all five adult NFS and the two fish available for testing. DA was not detected in any samples. Complimentary samples of the SE Bering Sea ecosystem during the same time frame and location as the die off revealed bloom densities of <i>Alexandrium catenella</i> (the dinoflagellate that produces STX), large <i>A. catenell</i>a cyst beds, and high prevalences of STX in fish (100%, <i>n</i> = 22), zooplankton (93%, <i>n</i> = 28), clams (100%, <i>n</i> = 10) and worms (93% <i>n</i> = 15) in the foraging area of NFS. High STX concentrations were observed in fish, clams, worms, and NFS urine providing compelling evidence for a STX poisoning event.
Authors
- Thomas J. Farrugia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9052-8826)
- Emily K. Bowers
- Frank Bahr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1736-309X)
- Donald Mark Anderson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3983-6388)
- Evangeline Fachon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2933-7283)
- Gulce Kurtay (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5169-6314)
- Lauren M. Divine (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0695-0176)
- Kathy Burek Huntington (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6903-735X)
- Patrick Charapata (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2847-1632)
- Peigen Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2410-976X)
- Paul I. Melovidov
- L. Lago (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2980-8110)
- Robert S. Pickart (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7826-911X)
- Colleen Duncan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8402-9238)
- Christina J. Campbell
- E. Fürst
- Kathi A. Lefebvre (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1036-3740)
- Natalie Rouse
- Hanna Hellen
Institutions
- NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (US)
- University of Alaska Fairbanks (US)
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (US)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- University of Washington (US)
- NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (US)
- Alaska SeaLife Center (US)
- Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (US)
- Florida Aquarium (US)
- OAI Consulting (United States) (US)
- Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (US)
- Alaska Volcano Observatory (US)
- NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Northwest Fisheries Science Center (US)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (US)
- Colorado State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Marine Mammal Science
- Published
- 2025-05-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.70028
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Marine Toxins and Detection Methods
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.44
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Commerce
- Cooperative Institute for the North Atlantic Region
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- North Pacific Research Board
- Office of Polar Programs
- National Marine Fisheries Service
- National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center
- NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory